[18.06] A Census of Accretion Power in the Universe with the Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP)

E. J. Hooper (UT Austin), ChaMP Collaboration

A vexing problem in AGN research is that their complex
taxonomy & wide range of properties make it difficult to
compile a broadly representative sample, particularly one
containing obscured sources. The relatively recent results
indicating that supermassive black holes may be entrenched
in every galaxy bulge give added impetus to conducting a
census of accretion power in the universe which is as
comprehensive as possible.

Two new X-ray telescopes, Chandra & XMM, have increased
X-ray survey capability by orders of magnitude, bringing
X-ray selection to the fore as one of the preeminent methods
for compiling deep, widely representative samples of AGN. A
large serendipitous survey with Chandra is underway, the
Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP; PI, B. Wilkes). The
ChaMP reaches far deeper than previous wide-area surveys
while covering much greater area than Chandra PI deep
surveys. Chandra's combination of depth, hard X-ray
sensitivity, positional accuracy, & large number of
serendipitous sources makes ChaMP unique, and it will remain
so for the foreseeable future.

Much of the scientific return of an X-ray AGN survey
requires redshifts & source characterizations provided by
spectroscopy, either of the active nucleus or, if it is too
obscured, the host galaxy. A program is underway, under the
aegis of the NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral
Fellowship Program, to obtain low-resolution spectra of
hundreds of ChaMP sources with the 2.7 m telescope and the 9
m Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory.

The NSF Fellowship also includes an education component. The
author is working with an innovative new program at UT
Austin for training science teachers, called UTeach, which
addresses many problems in teacher recruitment, education,
retention, and support. UTeach is a joint effort of the
Colleges of Natural Science & Education, and the Austin
school district. It trains future teachers well in math and
science, gives them early and continuing field experience,
and provides access to master teachers and a streamlined,
focused education curriculum.